People’s Light & Theatre
Some dream of life on stage, but Grace Grillet’s 19 years with People’s Light & Theatre began by accident with a part-time job at a smaller theater group. The rest, as they say, is history.
Celebrating its 35th year, People’s Light has grown substantially with Grace as Managing Director, a perfect role for a woman who “never wanted to be on stage.” Preferring to “support what the artists want to do,” Grace gets satisfaction from negotiating contracts, working with New York agents, and overseeing the $2-million renovation of the Congdon Building (in photo).
The fall season opener, “Nathan the Wise” with David Strathairn, is a perfect example of the mix of guest actors and company members that Grace helps make possible.
From building an audience through the Project Discovery program that brings high school students to the theater (19 high schools in Chester County last year) to building the space by getting donors to “Buy a Brick,” Grace has the role of a lifetime. 610-644-3500.
Foulkeways at Gwynedd
Four-hundred twenty residents in residence. A staff of 240. Major construction in progress. It’s a lot to have in your daily life. And so, when Doug Tweddale, CEO of Foulkeways of Gwynedd, a large Continuing Care Retirement Community, relates that what he loves most about his job is “interacting with the people,” it’s both surprising and not.
Doug calls Foulkeways an “amazing place.” He raves about “improving quality of life” as a mission and “empowering people” as a means. He’s led the organization for 23 years, but he’s still got the enthusiasm of a new hire. “We’re constantly changing, always morphing,” he says.
In fact, Foulkeways has a reputation for well-executed innovation, and so we listen carefully when Doug turns to “what’s next?” Doug believes healthcare facilities located within retirement communities should become “more residential.” We like the idea and are glad that Doug is onto it. In fact, we’re already feeling better about getting older. 215-643-2200.
Walter J. Cook, Jeweler
In 1946, Walter Cook returned from war and opened a jewelry counter in the back of a Bryn Mawr department store. After upgrading to the basement of Parvin’s drugstore in Bryn Mawr, he then took the business to a larger space in Paoli.
And it was there that Michael Cook began learning the jewelry business from his dad. “I was 10 years old. I began by sweeping floors,” Michael recalls. “Later I learned engraving, changing watch batteries, fixing clasps.”
Today Michael is the owner of the business his dad started, offering a wide selection of unique pieces, most personally selected. “What makes our store special,” he says, is that “regardless of budget, we can find something for people to mark the events of their lives.”
“Everything cycles,” he observes. “Re-styling, for example, is a great way to save the heart and soul of a family heirloom.” 610-644-5347.
Shady Lady, Inc.
Being called “that shade lady” inspired Mary Ellen Gannon to choose Shady Lady as the name of her custom window treatment service. Leaving behind work with the FBI and advertising, Mary Ellen said she “learned the business from the ground up, starting as a go-fer and installer” for a local shutter business. And learn she did!
Now celebrating 30 years in business, she’s taken sewing skills first learned in the 4th grade and has expanded business to draperies and interior accents (bed linens, slip covers, pillows, though window treatments remain the core). Working with designers or directly with customers who know what they want, Mary Ellen is now seeing an interest in Shoji screens and Roman shades.
From her first simple valance, Mary Ellen has brought an exacting sense of craftsmanship to all her projects, which she oversees personally by being on-site. “I stand behind what I do. That’s what people pay me for,” she explains. 610-527-4268. -CL-